Posts Mislead on Legal Basis for Paying Federal Income Taxes
Quick Take
The U.S. Constitution established Congress’ right to impose federal income taxes, and the Internal Revenue Service administers the laws that require payment of taxes. Yet social media posts falsely claim there is no law that requires U.S. residents to pay taxes.
Full Story
When it was ratified in 1788, the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to establish and collect taxes in Article 1, Section 8, clause 1.
It says, “The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”
In response to a Supreme Court ruling in 1895, Congress proposed the 16th Amendment to the Constitution in 1909 to clarify its right to impose a federal income tax. The states ratified the amendment in 1913.
“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States,
